


Busted!

by CJMartinnn, meowitskatmofo



Series: OGNY: On The Verge [6]
Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - High School, Drama, Gordlock - Freeform, M/M, Meeting the Parents, Parenthood, Relijah, Sexual Content, Smut, Sneaking Around, teenage angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-21
Updated: 2017-03-02
Packaged: 2018-09-18 16:46:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9394244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CJMartinnn/pseuds/CJMartinnn, https://archiveofourown.org/users/meowitskatmofo/pseuds/meowitskatmofo
Summary: Jim has been very suspicious and finally discovers the relationship between Elijah and Reed; with some encouragement from Harvey, he tries to accept the idea of them dating.





	1. Honey, I'm Home!

Reed leaned back in one of the Cobblepot family cars, sighing contently as he was being driven home. He had wrapped up another secret visit with his boyfriend Elijah. He was sure that his dick was going to be raw from the way they were going at it. Since having sex that beautiful first time, they had been humping like rabbits, never able to get enough of each other. Reed was so happy, convinced the last month was the absolute best of his entire life. Elijah's father, Oswald, was even becoming more tolerant of their relationship. He would keep Edward out late so he and Eli could have more time together and they never wasted a second. 

Oh, but it wasn't just sex, although there was plenty of it. Reed took Eli out on little dates, always thrilled to share the excitement of the mundane daily activities that he took for granted. His boyfriend went absolutely crazy for all of it. Eli almost lost his crap over a slushee machine at a gas station one time and Reed knew he only loved him more for it. It was all so amazing. They laughed, talked for hours, watched movies, cuddled. It was absolutely perfect and Reed couldn't stand a single moment away from him. 

He had even started skipping football practice in favor of spending time with him. He would always feign some sort of vague stomach illness, prompting concern in his coach, but Reed never dreamed that he would call up his Dad to check up on him. He and Elijah had been so careful, knowing the consequences would be dire if they were caught. 

Reed happened to notice that Elijah had been particularly aggressive today after glancing in the rear view mirror. Shit! He had a giant purple hickey right across the front of his throat. Football injury, yes; that would be the story he'd go with. He'd used it before already, but he didn't know what else to say. Pops hadn't seemed too concerned about what he was up to, always the easy going one, always chill. Dad on the other hand... He was worried that Dad was suspicious. 

The car dropped him off right out front of the apartment building and Reed hurried upstairs. He still had an hour before his parents were supposed to be home. It would give him plenty of time to settle in, smoke a bowl, and maybe borrow some of Ivy's make up to help cover his neck. He stepped through the door, shutting it as he sent Eli a little text to let him know that he had made it safely home, very happy to have a new phone finally so they could keep in touch. He started humming to himself, not a care in the world as he dropped his backpack and headed into the kitchen. 

Reed was right to think Jim was getting suspicious; he had been for a while now. There were nights Reed was getting home later and later, and those constant hickies weren't going unnoticed. He had been patient waiting for his son to come clean about whatever he was doing. In the past, Reed had always confessed, that chatterbox barely able to ever keep a secret. But so far, he wasn't budging. 

Today was the tipping point with Jim's patience. He had been busy at work, having walked into a complete and total shit show that morning. There was a mountain of paperwork on his desk; budget approvals, new hires, disciplinary action requests. Fuck, did he hate all of the red tape and miss detective work, but this was the first major step to making real changes in Gotham. 

Needless to say, when Jim got the phone call about Reed missing practice, and apparently not the first time, he was certainly not happy. That was the final straw. The one perk to being the commissioner was that he could leave when he needed to, stopping by the precinct on his way home to talk to Harvey about what was going on. Thankfully, as always, his partner was able to talk him down from how angry he was, reminding Jim that their son was just a damn stupid teenager sometimes. After a brief talk and a couple goodbye kisses, he made his way home, deciding the best option was to surprise their son at home. 

He waited around for a couple hours, getting comfortable in the kitchen, nursing a drink as he waited. Finally, he noticed a car pulling up out front and saw Reed getting out of the back of it. That was one of Oswald's cars. Suddenly, it all came together; his boy was sneaking around with that Cobblepot kid. Fuck. 

Jim heard Reed shuffling in through the front door a few minutes later, flashing a taut little grin as he came into the kitchen. "Well, you're getting home late again," he said loudly as Reed almost walked right by, trying not to snort as he jumped damn near out of his skin. He looked him over, spotting a massive purple hickey on his neck. "Another bruise from practice? That one looks pretty nasty." 

Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck. Oh, _FUCK_! Reed froze, gawking stupidly at his father. He had never really felt fear before this moment; even having Oswald Cobblepot walk in on him naked wasn't as terrifying as the sight of his father standing there, staring him down. Oh, fuck. He _knew_. Reed didn't know how, but he totally knew. Completely busted. Fuck, fuck, fuck. What was the proper response? Come clean? Confess? 

Fuck that, _lie like hell_! 

"Yeaaaah, you know, practice has been like super rough and I'm actually, you know, just covered in bruises. This isn't even the worst one. Just totally ate up with them." Reed grinned dumbly, blushing at the utter stupidity of his fibs, moments away from a full blown panic attack. Oh, God, he wished he was stoned. 

Jim was giving Reed that look. The one that screamed 'I know you're lying and you had better fess up.' He folded his arms over his chest, raising an eyebrow as he looked him over. "Your coach called." 

That next blow sent Reed reeling. Coach Smith had called? Now, Reed just wished he was dead. He audibly gulped, his face turning red and the flush traveling over to his ears. He pressed his lips together tightly, feeling completely trapped. Yup, needed to tell the truth. Reed rarely ever lied: not only because he was a good kid, but because he was horrible at it. No, he needed to fess up. Clean slate. 

"You know, I think they're getting ready to commit him?" Reed declared desperately. "Like maybe even Arkham? He's been like, huffing paint during practice and he keeps imagining things, totally seeing stuff." Totally didn't tell the truth. Nope. Oh, shit. This was so bad. 

Jim leaned back against the counter, folding his arms over his chest as he listened to Reed attempt to lie. God, he was such a terrible liar. He tried to keep a straight face, something he was particularly good at, but even he couldn't help but laugh. 

"Crazy, crazy stuff. Full blown nutso, so, you shouldn't believe anything he says," Reed continued, that damn babbling mouth of his never knowing when to stop. 

Jim kept quiet for a little while, letting Reed sweat it out a bit, his eyes never tearing away from him. He gave him a little bit longer to tell the truth, but when he kept lying, Jim was starting to get fed up. He was not used to sweet little Reed lying, especially when he knew he was caught red handed. 

"So, when did Mayor Cobblepot start bringing you home from 'practice'?" Jim questioned, making it pretty damn clear he had figured it out, giving Reed one last chance to tell him the truth. 

Reed was panicking. All he could think about was that if Jim knew, he would be so totally very dead; but more importantly, he would be even more officially banned from seeing Elijah. He had to try, didn't he? He couldn't bare the thought of not being with Eli. He had to try and smooth this over. He knew if he confirmed Jim's suspicions, his Dad would hit the roof. But if kept lying, also roof hitting. Maybe as long as he pretended, he could keep hiding it? Right, like fitting a whale in a sardine can. 

"Iiiii do not know what you are talking about," Reed said indignantly, trying to inch his way towards his bedroom. His room was his sanctuary. Maybe if he could just make it in there and shut the door, he would be safe. "I just caught a ride home with one of the guys, no big deal. And you know, Dad, I am feeling like the worst headache right now. My head might pop off, from all the hitting from practice. Maybe I have a concussion. I think I might just go lay down for a bit, okay?" 

Jim had finally had enough, that passively annoyed face giving way to a genuinely pissed off look in his eyes. He gritedt his teeth, shaking his head as he walked over and stepped in between Reed and his door. "Oh, cut the shit, Reed! I saw the damn car!" he snapped, eyes narrowing as he looked up at his son. 

Jim was trying his very best to remain calm, but Reed was thoroughly testing his patience; and fast. He could put up with a lot, he really could. Reed had never really been the dishonest type. But, now that he was sneaking around Elijah? All of a sudden he was out late, skipping school and practice, he had been suspended, and now he was lying straight to his face. It scared Jim more than he was willing to admit. His son was far too kind hearted to see the bad in people sometimes. This kid had to be trouble, look at his parents. "How long have you been sneaking around with the Cobblepot kid?" 

Reed's heart was throbbing miserably, cut off from his sanctuary, completely fucked. He stared stupidly down at his father, not able to remember the last time he had seen him this pissed. It was fucking scary and Reed knew now there was nowhere for him to hide. He couldn't lie; already feeling terrible for the weak fibs he'd tried to sell. He couldn't run, there was nothing left except to face the truth. He licked his lips nervously, backing up a few steps as he meekly replied, "Oh. I don't know. Maybe... What's today. Tuesday? Wednesday? Maybe like... A month?" He cringed, trying to brace himself for his father's wrath. 

Jim was ready to completely explode, furious with himself for letting it go on so long when he knew in his gut that Reed was up to something. A month? The more his son rambled, the more angry Jim was getting. "So you've been lying to us for a month now? Anything else we don't know about?" he barked, finally yelling. 

"No," Reed squeaked as innocently as possible. Definitely haven't been growing pot down in the basement and selling it, nope, nope. Nothing else to hide! Dating the crooked mayor's son was enough of a secret to let slip, wasn't it? "I-I know you and Pops told me not to and I was really going to and I... He's not like his parents, I promise!" Reed's voice became earnest, praying Jim would listen. "He's kind and he's funny, a-a-and I mean, okay, sometimes he's a little scary because he's like, so fancy and uses big words and I don't always understand, but! Dad! He's special! He's not like them!" 

As Reed started trying to convince him that Elijah wasn't like his family, Jim was ready to come unglued. This kid was special? Fuck, were they dating? The only thing that could have been worse than sneaking and messing around with that Cobblepot kid? Dating him. Dating him was worse. "You're _dating_ him? You can't be that stupid, Reed. You don't just get raised by two psychopaths and turn out normal!" 

Reed cringed from his Dad's yelling, eyes wide as he suddenly felt about an inch tall. As Jim's voice got louder, Reed kept shrinking back, his voice so small as he pleaded, "Dad, please! Yes! I'm sorry! We're, yeah, we're dating, a-and he's good to me! I'm sorry I lied, I was scared a-a-and..." 

There was no way Elijah could be a good kid for Reed to be around. His parents were both in Arkham, for fuck's sake! He let out a frustrated sigh, shaking his head and spoke through gritted teeth. "You're grounded. I'll figure out exactly from what when Pop gets home. Just... Go to your damn room. And you're definitely not seeing him again." 

Reed's heart stopped when he heard his father's ultimatum. "No," he begged, tears stinging his eyes. He refused to move, trying to be brave. Eli stood up to Oswald, right? He could stand up to Jim! "No, please. Please, please. I have to see him, you don't understand, Dad. I can't, I can't not see him. He's everything to me, _please_." 

Jim was a little surprised. Reed was never one to argue back much. Sure, the kid had a temper from time to time that could be explosive, but generally he didn't argue when he was given any absolute command. When he heard him say that Elijah was 'everything to him', Jim felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Fuck. He didn't think he was in love, did he? 

"No. Absolutely not," Jim replied, not willing to budge. There was just no way he saw it ending well. 

"Dad! Please!" Reed cried, a few hot tears squeezing out. Oh, no. This couldn't be happening. He shoved his face into his hands, fingers tearing back into his hair. He should have been more careful, now everything was fucking ruined. 

When Jim heard the front door unlocking, he couldn't help but let out a small sigh of relief. Harvey was so much better with this shit than he was. 

Harvey was fumbling with the keys, having not left work too long after Jim did. He had a bad feeling about this. He was just as shocked as his partner was that their little angel Reed had been sneaking around, certainly up to no good. He hadn't been quite as angry as Jim; fuck, Reed was a saint compared to the crap Harvey had been doing at his age. 

Harvey could hear raised voices before he even came in, making a sour face. Great, he was just in time for the party. He figured Reed had been running around with someone, maybe his first little boyfriend or girlfriend and he didn't want them to know. He had seen all the hickeys and knew Ivy had been covering for her brother at least the past week or two. None of this had he shared with Jim, knowing how worked up his partner could get; especially when it came to the kids, particularly Reed. Harvey came into the apartment, headed straight to the fridge, calling out, "Hey! What's all the damn racket?" 

Jim took a few steps forward, giving Reed a warning look to stay put as he turned his attention to his partner. "Oh, I dunno. Where should we start? Skipping practice, skipping school, dating Ed and Oswald's kid," he fumed, glancing back to Reed for a moment. "Oh! I almost forgot, repeatedly lying to my face about it tonight after he knew he was caught red handed." 

Reed's heart was falling apart in his chest, trying to hold onto a bit of hope now that Pops was here. Maybe, just maybe, Harvey would listen to him. For the moment, Reed stayed put, that nasty look from his Dad freezing his feet into place. 

Harvey grabbed a beer out of the fridge, popping it open and taking a long sip as he listened to Jim listing off their son's wrap sheet of offenses. "Well, damn, little shit's been busy," he muttered, his temper starting to bubble up. He couldn't believe it. Okay, skipping class and all of that, sure. But the lying? Even after being caught? The sweet little Reed they had raised would have never done that before. He quickly interpreted it all as a result of hanging out with that Cobblepot kid. 

After all, Reed had never done kind of shit before, right? Harvey threw up a hand, staring down his son as he snapped, "What the fuck, Reed! What the fuck were you thinking? You think you could lie to us and we wouldn't eventually figure it out? You do know we're cops, right?" 

"Y-yes!" Reed stammered, looking at his dear Pops desperately, "But I knew if you found out, you wouldn't let me see Elijah any more and-" 

"You're not supposed to be seeing that fucking brat in the first place!" Harvey moaned. 

Jim was grateful when Harvey took over, knowing he was already well past the limit on his patience. He took a backseat for a moment and let his partner take over, making his way to the fridge for a beer himself. He opened it, sipping slowly, trying to calm down. 

Reed sniffed back another round of tears, his lips tight as he held back a sob. "Pops, Dad. Please, just listen to me! He's not this bad kid, he's really nice and kind a-a-and." He took a deep breath, trying to be brave, thinking of Elijah every moment as he said, "I won't stop seeing him. We've been sleeping together and-" 

"Please for the love of all that is fucking holy, sweet mother of mercy, please tell me that you're not a complete moron and you wrapped up your junk?" Harvey was horrified, realized he was blushing and completely flustered. This was not the conversation he wanted to have with his teenage son today, not at fucking all. 

Jim ran a hand over his face, letting out a frustrated sigh, cringing a bit when Harvey mentioned their son having sex. Having that birds and bees talked had been awkward enough when Reed was a kid; now as a teenager, practically grown? Not what he wanted to talk about right then at all. 

"Well, not exactly?" Reed admitted, completely mortified. He didn't think it was possible to blush any more, pretty sure if one more ounce of blood went to his head he was going to pass out. "But I was his first and I was his, so it's okay! It's just-" 

"Oh, my God!" Harvey wailed. "So glad to see that the apple didn't far fall from the Cobblepot Cherry Poppin' tree! What a fantastic fucking Gordon family tradition!" He chugged back the rest of his beer, slamming the empty can into the trash. He gestured wildly at his son, snapping, "Our fucking son is banging fuckin' Oswald Cobblepot's brat, fuck me!" 

Jim's eyes narrowed over at Harvey when he brought up his past affair with Oswald, thankful Reed wasn't always the brightest and didn't catch on. 

Reed was too confused to even respond, having no clue what his Pops was blabbering about. He looked over at Harvey and back to Jim, biting his lip as he meekly said, "Please, I want..." He took a deep breath, raising his voice as he said more certain of himself, "I want to date him and I am not going to stop seeing him. I _love_ him with all of my heart!" 

"Oh, _fuck_ ," Harvey gasped, eyes wide. 

Jim had just taken another sip of his beer, damn near choking when he heard Reed say he was in love. "You've got to be kidding me. You think you're _in love_ with him?" he questioned, silently praying this was all just a short lived little show of teenage rebellion. The thought alone made him want to panic. They had fought so hard to shield Reed from how awful Gotham could really be, tried to protect that sweet, innocent light in him. 

Now, their boy was just walking headfirst into the lion's den. Fuck, he was practically sprinting into it. And now that he knew Reed thought he was in love that Cobblepot kid? Well, that just meant it would be that much more of a fight to keep them apart. 

"Yes! And I don't think it, Dad, I _know_ it! I fucking love him with all of my heart!" Reed insisted passionately. 

Harvey reached over and yanked Reed's ear, hard, making him yelp. "Hey! What have I said about the fucking language!" He let go, scowling sourly. 

Jim shook his head as he listened to their son saying he was certain he was in love with a monster. "You're seventeen, Reed. You've been sneaking around a month. I know you think you're in love, but you're not," he insisted, gritting his teeth in frustration. 

"But _Dad_!" Reed protested, his hands clenching into fists, holding back more tears. 

"Shut up, Reed," Harvey sighed, furrowing his brows, exchanging a glance with Jim. What the shit were they going to do. What a fucking mess. He held out his hand, saying sternly, "Phone. Now. Then go to your fucking room." 

Reed handed it over, sniffing softly. This couldn't be how things fucking ended. It just couldn't be. "Please, Pops, if you just give him a chance-" 

"Room!" Harvey commanded, watching his son storm off towards his room, door slamming so hard they could feel the apartment shake. He heard a bit of noise, sighing haggardly. He headed to the fridge again, but this time he reached above it and grabbed a bottle of whiskey from a cabinet up above. He poured two drinks, handing one off to Jim and kissing him softly. "Well," he said, sarcasm dripping from his voice as he took a sip, "This is really fuckin' fun, ain't it?" 

Jim couldn't help but cringe a little as Reed's slam rocked the apartment, letting out a heavy sigh as he heard things being thrown around. Great, this would be a fun evening. He took the glass as it was handed to him, returning the kiss, taking a long sip as he glanced up to Harvey. "Oh, yeah. A fucking blast," he replied with equal sarcasm. 

Jim leaned against the counter, rubbing at the back of his neck with a frustrated sigh. "What the hell are we supposed to do now? He's clearly gonna keep doing whatever he wants," he muttered, blue eyes peeking up at Harvey. "He can't be running around with that kid. He just fucking can't." 

"Maybe we can use that new fancy commissioner salary for private school? Send him away somewhere?" Harvey suggested, nursing the booze. "Fuck, I don't know." He stood in front of Jim, wanting to comfort him. He hated seeing him so stressed, none of his ideas seeming to help. He finished off the drink, hissing slightly at burn. He tried to take it easy on the hard stuff these days. He set it aside and wrapped his arms around Jim's waist. 

"Hey," Harvey soothed, kissing his partner's cheek. "We'll fucking figure something out." He heard a particularly loud crash and winced. "Hopefully before Reed destroys his fucking room. Fuck. That fucking kid, I still can't fucking believe it. I mean, okay, Ivy? I would totally believe Ivy pulling some shit like this." 

Jim leaned into him, burying his face into his chest for a moment. He was more grateful to have Harvey there than he could ever say, feeling a little bit more reassured with his words. Jim didn't know how to separate anger and fear very well, and his frustrations were certainly stemming from fear. 

Reed was such a damn good kid. He loved both of their kids just the same, but Reed was so damn sweet, impressionable and he could see the good in the worst of people. Jim felt such a strong need to protect all those good things about him. He could hear Reed crying and despite his frustrations, it sucked to hear. He was already so fearful for Ivy; but now he had to worry about Reed, too? 

Ivy was not the angel that her brother was. Not even close. She'd been in and out of trouble ever since they adopted her. Shoplifting, fights, smoking, drinking, being late to class; when she actually went to class, that is. Jim couldn't count how many times she'd been caught sneaking around with girls and boys, even as early as middle school. She had gotten a little better as she got older; but Harvey and Jim both suspected she was just better at not getting caught. 

"Are we really doing the right thing?" Harvey suddenly questioned, finding himself hesitating. "I mean, yeah, Oswald and Edward are fucking terrifying; especially Ed... But Oswald is still mayor for a reason, he's been doing a right decent job running Gotham..." He was apprehensive, certain that Jim would resist him immediately. 

Reed was a good kid; he was so fucking good he'd never fucking experienced anything in his life. He'd never had any boyfriend or girlfriend before this, never one date, never partied, never even got drunk that he knew of. 

Jim pulled back, looking up at Harvey with an eyebrow raised. He couldn't be serious. "Of course we're doing the right thing!" he insisted, seeing Harvey's resolve starting to break just by the look on his face. Jim wrestled with it in his head, knowing damn well Harvey had always been better at easing their parenting troubles. Even so, his gut was telling him to nip this all in the bud. 

"But are we really?" Harvey pushed, grimacing as he heard something else in Reed's room crash and more crying. "You know, punishing the kids for the sins of the father and all that shit?" 

Jim began to crack. Jesus, those heaving sobs were breaking his heart. He let out a heavy sigh, shaking his head. "I don't know if we're doing the right thing," he admitted, his arms wrapping around his partner as he hid his face in his chest again. "Maybe you're right. But, what if this kid really is bad news? Then what?" 

Harvey gently nudged Jim's chin up so he could look at him, saying gently, "We fucking handle it. Hey, if he's a rotten fuckin' kid, he breaks Reed's heart? Well, we pick up the pieces. It's what we do. And maybe throw the little shit in jail." He chuckled lightly, trying to make Jim smile. Harvey sighed, kissing him softly. Even after all of these years, his partner's lips still made his heart flutter. 

Jim couldn't help but crack a smile, his face softening significantly as he chuckled. Harvey always knew how to make him laugh when he was in the worst of moods. "He breaks his heart, he's definitely going to jail," he sighed, happily returning the soft little kiss. 

"I don't know if this is the right thing to do," Harvey confessed "I really fucking don't. But think of it like this. I'd rather give that little fucker a chance than have Reed keep sneaking around and lying to us!" He grunted, adding, "I mean, we still gotta punish him for all that other shit. Probably blown his fucking scholarship. We can't reward this shit behavior. But if we keep saying no and he thinks he's in love? He'll keep doing it." He shrugged. "I know I fucking would." 

Jim listened to Harvey's reasoning, knowing in the back of his mind that he was right, as much as he didn't want to admit it. Reed would keep misbehaving if they didn't at least give him a chance. He was a stubborn thing when he had his mind set on something. As he heard yet another crash in their son's room, he stole one more quick kiss, nuzzling against Harvey's scruffy cheek. 

"We should probably go tell him before his room is demolished. Or ya' know, he sneaks out again." Jim nodded, pulling back enough to toss back the rest of his drink, letting out a little hiss. 

Harvey laughed softly, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze. "Kid is a little baby bull, I swear. He's gonna take the whole building down." He gave Jim a sweet pat on his hip, leading him back to Reed's door and knocking. "Hey? Reed?" 

Reed lifted his head from where he had curled up in bed, sniffling. His face was red and raw from crying, completely convinced his life was over. Without Eli, what did he fucking have that was worth a damn? His tantrum had come to a close, only so much damage he could do in his small room anyway. He wiped his face with his arm, yelling back, "Don't want to talk to you!" 

"Yeah, I think you do," Harvey said, scratching at his beard. "Me and Dad wanna talk to you about what you're doing with that Cobblepot kid. You know, maybe... Maybe Dad was wrong." He grinned at Jim, totally throwing him under the bus, preparing himself for a punch. Good parenting. He tried the door, it was locked. "Can you open the door?" 

Harvey was right to brace himself because the punch came right away, Jim giving him a dirty look. "And maybe Pop's an asshole," he muttered, waiting beside his partner for the door to open. 

Reed hesitated. "Are... Are you guys serious?" It seemed too good to be true. He jumped out of bed, unlocking the door and peeking out suspiciously at his parents. 

Jim offered a little smile at his son. He still wasn't thrilled about this, but he was definitely giving in. 

Reed's heart was pounding, afraid to get his hopes up. "Okay, not even ten seconds ago you said 'no'. Do you... Do you really mean it?"

"Yes, we mean it," Jim reassured him, waiting for the bedroom door to open the rest of the way and taking a step in. "You're still seriously, _seriously_ grounded. But we're willing to give you a chance. Any more sneaking around and lying and that's it. Done." His tone was warning, but much softer than before. 

Reed's face lit up immediately, laughing excitedly as he pounced Jim, wrapping him up a big hug. Reed always seemed to forget how much bigger he was than his Dad, Jim's feet hanging off the ground as they embraced. "Oh, my God! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I promise, no more sneaking around!" Except, you know, to water and harvest weed. "No more lying!" Except about the weed. Dammit! He pushed those thoughts away; he would have to deal with Ivy later. He wanted out. Elijah was far more important to him to risk over messing with pot. 

No matter how many times it happened, ever since Reed shot up to be much bigger than him, Jim could never fully brace himself for those big ol' bear hugs. He laughed, his arms wrapping around Reed as he attempted to get his feet back on the ground. "You're welcome, kid," he replied with a smile. Seeing Reed so happy reassured him that perhaps they were doing the right thing. 

Reed gently set his Dad down and went barreling into Harvey, who could handle the giant tackle a little better. Harvey held his son close, still wondering if this was a mistake. Fuck it. At least for now, he knew his little boy was happy. He kissed the side of Reed's head, patting his back. "Easy, easy, kiddo." 

Reed pulled away, smiling brightly at his parents. "Thank you, really. So, so, so much! You'll see, I promise! He's nothing like what you think. He's amazing, and smart, and he's so fucking handsome and, ow!" He rubbed the back of his head when Harvey smacked him for cussing. 

Harvey shook his head, looking over at Jim and laughing, "The fucking mouth on this kid! No fucking clue where he gets it from." 

Jim rolled his eyes as Harvey gave Reed shit about his language, shaking his head. "Yeah, no idea at all," he replied sarcastically. 

Harvey grinned, glancing back at Reed. Something began to dig in the back of his mind, his brows furrowing. As he recalled, Oswald and Edward didn't seem to be big fans of Reed, frowning slightly. "Wait up a second. There is something we gotta know, real fuckin' talk. Does... Do Elijah's parents know about this?" 

"Only Oswald," Reed said, immediately blushing at the memory. "It's not like we told him! We were hiding it from them, too! But he sort of, came home early, and... Well, yeah. He knows." 

Jim's concerns shot right back up. Shit, he hadn't even considered all the possible problems with those two being involved. He felt a little better knowing Oswald knew. Although a criminal and crooked as the day was long, Oswald could be quite reasonable. Ed was the one that worried him. He was far more dangerous. There was little doubt who wore the pants in that relationship and Jim felt somewhat confident that Oswald would keep Edward in check. 

"Just... be careful around them. Please?" Jim added seriously, not entirely comfortable with the idea of Reed being around them at all, but there really wasn't a whole lot they could do to avoid that if the kids were dating. 

"I am, Dad. I promise," Reed assured him. He still didn't understand the full extent of what monsters they were, but he still knew they were not good people. He pushed his hair back, letting out a big sigh. This had been a ridiculous roller coaster of a day. He couldn't wait to tell Elijah. He smiled sheepishly at Harvey and Jim, asking sweetly, "Sooo, does my grounding cover my phone? Or can I pretty please have it back?" 

Harvey looked thoughtful, scratching his chin as he said, "You can have it back for tonight, but on one condition." He glanced over at Jim. If they were going to do this, really let this happen, it was gonna be sink or swim. Time to start fucking paddling. "Tell your little boyfriend to come over for dinner. Tonight. I'm making spaghetti." 

"Really?! Thank you, Pops! That is so fuc-I mean, freaking amazing! Your pasta is so awesome, you guys will just love him, I know it!" Reed was thrilled. His parents were actually going to let Elijah come over, Pops was going to make spaghetti; totally one of his favorites. Wait... They had been trying to tell Reed he couldn't see Eli, then they finally recanted and said he could. Reed was still supposed to grounded, but now they were saying it was okay for Elijah to come hang out? Reed frowned. Parents were fucking crazy confusing. He was cautious, asking, "Whyyyy?" 

Harvey shrugged innocently, saying, "Maybe we just wanna to meet the boy our son is dating?" 

Jim was a little surprised that they were inviting the kid over so soon, but fuck it, he supposed they were really doing this. He couldn't help but laugh at Reed's sudden caution, flashing a cheeky little grin. "You keep telling us we'll love him, so why not bring him over?" he nodded, knowing damn well he was probably going to have to stop himself from giving the kid the third degree. 

Jim let out a little sigh, glancing to Harvey for a moment. Shit, they were really going to let this happen. He tried to remind himself that Reed was a good kid with a good head on his shoulders. He wouldn't end up in trouble, right? He took the phone from Harvey and handed it back to Reed, motioning for him to go. "Go on, go invite him over." 

"Okay!" Reed was still suspicious, but his heart was soaring. He was grinning from ear to ear. This was good, wasn't it? Really good! His parents wanted to give Elijah a real shot, they were going to let them keep dating. Meeting parents was a totally normal part of a relationship. He was still a little worried about how this would go, but he was determined to make sure it was perfect. He eagerly grabbed his phone, thumbs flying as he texted Elijah excitedly: 

**hey guess what my parents caught me but its totally cool! :) they want you to come over for dinner!**

Harvey smirked, taking Jim's hand and leading him away to give Reed some privacy. He called back over his shoulder, yelling out, "Dinner is at seven! Tell him don't be fucking late! Bad impression and all that shit!" 

Reed was positively bouncing as he hurried to clean up the incredible mess he had made of his room. He heard Harvey yelling, grabbing his phone and texting again: 

**noms at 7 dont be late**

Reed was so excited. There was still a good bit of nerves left, not sure how his parents were going to behave once Elijah was there, but he was hopeful. He finished straightening up his room and changed clothes quickly. He tugged on a clean, white t-shirt and some loose fitting jeans. He sprayed on some cologne and ran his fingers through his hair. Good? Yup! Good. 

Harvey gave Jim a quick kiss on the cheek, taking off his jacket and hat. He hadn't even had a second to kick off his shoes, having been pulled right into the fight the moment he had come through the door. Shoes off, jacket and hat hung up, he returned to the kitchen to start dinner. He started puttering around in the kitchen, pulling his hair back as he groaned, "Well. I guess we're about to see just how stupid of an idea this is." 

Elijah had been settling in for the night at home after Reed left, getting ready to go down for dinner when he noticed a text from him. He had been wondering where he had disappeared to, since they were constantly texting if they weren't together. When he opened his phone, he felt a brief wave of panic. Fuck, dinner with Reed's parents? Elijah was certain they must've hated him. Then the second text rolled in and he knew he probably shouldn't back out. Things were going well with Oswald knowing, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. 

**I'll be there <3**

Eli was quick to get up and dressed, deciding he should probably avoid his usual penchant for leather and dress nicely. He dug through his closet, tugging out a nice white button up, rolling up the sleeves before changing into a nicer pair of black pants, clipping on black suspenders to tie it together. Like his father, he put way too much thought into anything he wore. He wanted to make a good impression, after all. He fixed up his hair, taking a look in the mirror and wincing at the sight of all the bruises all over his neck. 

After grabbing his jacket and slipping his shoes on, he made his way down to the dining room, seeing his father sitting there, thankfully alone. He was quick to explain everything and Oswald gave him the okay to go pretty easily. He did not harbor quite the same hate for the Gordon family as Edward. On his way out the door, Elijah grabbed a nice bottle of wine from the cellar that his father always recommended, figuring it couldn't hurt, right? Fuck, this was terrifying. 

It wasn't a long trip over to the apartment and Elijah was panicking the whole way. What if they hated him? They had to hate him. What if they decided after meeting him that Reed wasn't allowed to see him again? His mind was racing as he made his way up the stairs to the their door, taking a deep breath before knocking. He fidgeted where he stood as he waited, checking his phone for the time. 6:59. Thank God. 

"I'll get it! Don't get it, I got it!" Reed hollered from across the apartment, bolting through towards the door when he heard the knock. 

"Yup!" Harvey called back, having never even bothered to make a move to answer it. He had his hair pulled back, apron and glasses on as he tended to browning the hamburger for the sauce. He was already a few drinks in more than he should have been; especially not having had liquor in so long, he was very nicely buzzed. He figured it was for the best; being happy and drunk was the best mood to play host to Oswald Cobblepot's son. 

Reed slid across the floor in his socks and skidded to a halt in the foyer. He swung the door open, grinning wide at Elijah. "Wow," he said, laughing softly, not able to resist gawking at him. "You look really, really good." He took his hand, slowly guiding him in. He was careful to make sure his parents weren't looking, wrapping his arms around his waist and leaning in, sneaking a sweet kiss. Dropping his voice, he added playfully, "Like, totally and unbelievably fuckable." 

Elijah felt a wave of relief when Reed opened the door, his heart fluttering in his chest at the way his boyfriend stared. Even though it was generally how that sweet little ginger of his tended to look at him, it always made Elijah swoon when he looked at him like he was the most gorgeous thing in the whole world. He smiled brightly and happily returned the sweet kiss. His cheeks heated up at that last comment, smirking a bit. "Don't tease," he whispered, making sure his boyfriend's parents weren't looking before giving his neck a playful little bite, making certain not to leave a mark. He relaxed a bit more, the scent of his cologne always so comforting. 

"I can't help it!" Reed laughed softly. He sighed longingly at the bite. He was so very happy to see him. 

Elijah took a moment to look Reed over, his eyes lingering on those perfectly sculpted muscles peeking out from under his sleeves. Fuck, he loved his arms. And stomach. And legs. And back. Who was he kidding? That whole body was perfect. When he saw that he had on a clean shirt with no holes or wrinkles and jeans with no tears, he couldn't help but smile. His sweet little puppy had dressed up for him! "You look really nice yourself. Like, really, really handsome," he paused, lowering his voice and giving him a playful little wink, "Definitely would hit it. And call you the next day." 

"You goddamn right you'd call. I guess technically I called. Well, really, I texted." Reed shook his head, chuckling at himself, whispering softly, "You look fuckin' beautiful." He took his hand and led Eli into the kitchen, smiling shyly at his parents. "Hey, Dad. Pops. I mean, I know you've met him, sort of. But I want you to meet him _again_ , properly. This is Elijah." He was absolutely beaming, so proud of the young man on his arm. 

That ball of nerves was right back as soon as Elijah saw Harvey and Jim, worried he was going to completely blow it. He gave his boyfriend's hand a little squeeze as he was introduced, smiling brightly. Elijah was always particularly good at masking any sort of fear or nervousness, reminding himself that this was just like any other time he was nervous. He could do this, especially if it meant he and Reed didn't have to keep sneaking around and they would actually be allowed to see each other. 

Harvey turned from the stove, trying to give a friendly smile. He really was going to make an honest effort to play nice. He was definitely a little drunk and couldn't help but stare a wee bit. Had to admit, the Cobblepot kid was a looker. He took another sip of whiskey, mumbling through it, "Mmmhmm." He nodded, "It's nice to meet you, Elijah. Is that..." He tilted his head, smirking. "Is that a bottle of wine?" Yes, because exactly what Harvey needed was more alcohol. 

Elijah let go of Reed's hand, offering his out to shake Harvey and Jim's hands, trying not to let Jim's stern gaze intimidate him. "Hi! It's really nice to finally get to properly meet you both," he said, his tone warm and friendly. He smiled, not a single trace of his usual bitch face, offering out the bottle of wine to Harvey with a nod. "I figured I should bring something. I wasn't sure what kind you like or if you even really drink wine for that matter. I'm sorry if you don't like it, I can always bring something else next time... that is, of course, if you guys decide I can come over again." Eli paused a moment, his cheeks flushing. "Oh, God, I'm really rambling. I should probably shut up and let someone else get a word in." 

Elijah Cobblepot did not nervously ramble _ever_. And right then, he couldn't shut the fuck up. Fuck, this was nerve wracking. 

Jim shook Elijah's hand when it was extended his way, trying his very hardest to be on his best behavior and give the kid a chance. It was tough, especially when he caught a glimpse of the mess of bite marks and hickeys all over Eli's neck. "It's nice to meet you too." He replied with a tight lipped smile. "Take a breath, we're not gonna bite. Thanks for the wine, don't worry, it won't go to waste." 

Okay, Harvey had to admit it; the Cobblepot brat was really cute. The way he babbled so nervously, and how he was looking at Reed; and how Reed was looking right back. Fuck, maybe they were in love. Stupid ass kids. Harvey smirked, eyeballing Eli's battered neck, taunting, "Yeah, we won't bite; looks like Reed has been doing plenty of that!" 

"Oh, God," Reed groaned, his face immediately turning bright red. He squeezed Elijah's hand, begging, "Can we please just be excused to my room, please?" 

"Nope!" Harvey said, moving to the counter to start dicing tomatoes and onions up. "The whole point of this is for me and your Dad to get to know Elijah. Now, while you've been gettin' down and exploring in the, ahem, Biblical sense? We need a chance to talk to him." 

Reed buried his face into Elijah's shoulder, wishing he could melt down into the floor. He tried to stay positive; Pops was in a good mood, being silly and playful. Even though it was all embarrassing as hell, he tried to take it a good sign. Even Dad was being kind! 

Elijah's face went bright red when Harvey brought up the bruises scattered all over his neck, cheeks only growing more hot at the mention of their sex life. His own father had walked in on them, and while that was embarrassing enough, he was grateful that they had never really discussed what he had seen. He glanced down when Reed buried his face in his shoulder, unable to hold back a little grin. Aw, his sweet little puppy was embarrassed. 

Jim grabbed two new glasses from the cabinet, laughing softly as Harvey tormented the kids. He looked over at the two of them, noticing the way they kept eyeballing each other. Even if he wasn't crazy about the idea of the kids dating, he couldn't deny the way they looked at each other. He knew that look in Reed's eyes all too well. It was the same dopey, lovesick look Harvey gave him in those few sweet and quiet moments. Shit, maybe the kid was in love. He popped open the bottle of wine and poured some for he and Harvey. 

Harvey smiled as Jim handed him the glass of wine, winking as he replied, "Thank you, Commissioner." 

"You're welcome," Jim laughed. It still felt strange to hear that title, not used to it just yet. He took a sip, eyebrows raising a bit. Holy shit, that was good. He glanced at the bottle, damn near choking as he took another sip. "Holy shit, kid. Do your parents know you brought this over? This costs a couple grand!" he pointed out, certain he must have grabbed the wrong bottle. 

Harvey was about halfway through the glass when he heard how much it cost. He finished it off, shrugging as he smacked his lips. "Not bad." 

Elijah smiled and gave a little nod, shrugging his shoulders. "My father recommended this one, actually. It's one of his favorites. It's all yours, I hope it's okay!" he replied cheerfully, taking Reed's hand again, lacing their fingers together. He wondered for a moment if it was okay to hold his hand, never really having dealt with normal parents. The only other parents he had really dealt with were Zsasz and Jerome and well... they were as far from normal as it got. 

"Damn, thank you!" Harvey nodded at the wine with a grin. "Booze is definitely something the Gordon Bullock family appreciates; especially the Bullock side." 

"Holy crap," Reed said, in awe at the price. Elijah was so fucking fancy. He couldn't imagine something like that costing so much. "That bottle of wine is like a car!" He laughed, grinning over at his Dad as he dared to ask, "Can we try some?" 

Jim raised an eyebrow when Reed asked if they could have some of the wine, letting out a little snort as he grinned. "Yeah, sure you can." he replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes in his son's direction. "Nice try though, kid." Jim finished off his glass of wine as well, starting to feel a bit of a buzz himself. 

"Oh, come on," Harvey said. He winked at his partner, pouting playfully. He reached around Jim, making sure to lewdly brush right up against him, grabbing the bottle of wine. "Let the damn kids have a taste!" He got two shot glasses out of the cabinet, pouring the boys a healthy splash. He handed them off to Reed, smirking. "Cheers, kiddo!" 

"Wow! Thanks, Pops!" Reed excitedly accepted the drinks, giving one to Elijah. He clinked their glasses together, smiling shyly. This was going so fucking well. "Cheers, baby." 

Elijah happily accepted the little shot glass, thanking Harvey before he clinked his glass back against Reed's. "Cheers." he replied with a smile, throwing back the little shot. 

Reed drank it back, making a disgusted face. He didn't care how fancy it was, it tasted fucking awful. "Your family paid for that?!" he asked Eli, horrified. He'd rather have a cheap beer any day over that stuff. 

Elijah was certainly allowed a sizeable glass or two with dinner at home now that he was almost an adult, so he was more than used to the taste. He couldn't help but snort at Reed's face, shaking his head and smiling. "It's not _that_ bad." 

"Want some more?" Harvey offered sweetly. 

"No, thanks!" Reed groaned, dropping their empty shot glasses in the sink. 

Harvey cackled, waving his hand and saying to Jim, "See? Good parenting!" He smirked, returning to cooking, dropping the vegetables in with the hamburger. 

Reed stuck out his tongue, laughing. He loved when Pops was like this; sure, he probably drank too much. But he was so happy and fun a little buzzed. He could usually even get Dad out of the grumpiest of moods. 

Jim poured himself and Harvey another glass of wine, lifting himself up to sit on the countertop. "So, Oswald knows about you two, huh? What does he have to say?" 

Elijah nodded his head, smiling a bit as he glanced back over to Jim. "Well, at first he wasn't too excited or on board with us dating. But he got over it pretty quickly, says I have a look when Reed around," he replied, blushing just a bit. "He agrees that he's really sweet and funny. My dad doesn't know yet but... well, you've met him. Just kinda waiting for the right time to tell him." 

Harvey sipped at the glass Jim had poured for him, trying not to chug it again. His joyful expression faltered for a second, frowning at Elijah as he said, "Oh, yeah. We've met quite a few times." He tried to suppress all the bitter memories, killing off the rest of his wine. He topped off Jim's glass, pouring the last for himself. 

Harvey stirred at the pan, keeping his voice light again as he said, "Oh, yeah. There's definitely a look. And, uh, whenever you decide to tell ol' Eddie? You let us know, too." He didn't care that Ed had raised this kid; there way no way that Elijah knew him like he and Jim did. It was clear from the other day that the hatred between him and Jim had only festered with time. Harvey didn't want to think about how Ed would react when he found out about their kids dating. 

Elijah noticed the obvious shift of tone in the room at the mention of his dad, Edward. He couldn't help the way his own smile faltered, cocking his head a bit in confusion. He knew he should keep his mouth shut, things were going so damn well. But, they didn't know Ed the way he did, they only saw the bad. Eli knew how kind, caring and thoughtful his dad could be; even if he had his bad moments. He couldn't do it. "You know, my dad isn't all bad," he finally piped up, looking back and forth between Harvey and Jim. 

Jim was sipping at his drink, glancing over to Harvey when Eli seemed to get frustrated. Sure, Oswald and Ed were his parents, but there had to be things he didn't know. "Not saying he is. We're just saying we know he wasn't happy about you and Reed when you got suspended and there's a lot of stuff I'm sure you don't know about that happened before you kids were around," he baited, curious to see Elijah's reaction. And just like he suspected, he didn't react well. 

"There's plenty of stuff that I do know about," Elijah huffed, dropping Reed's hand as his arms folded over his chest, staring Jim down. "Nobody's perfect, Mr. Gordon. Everyone has secrets, right?" Elijah knew plenty about Jim Gordon, like the fact that his hands weren't as clean as Reed thought they were. 

Jim's mood shifted drastically, not liking that little Cobblepot kid's attitude. And what exactly did he mean about secrets, what did he know? He hopped down off of the counter, arms crossing over his chest as well, staring up at Elijah. "And what exactly is it that you think you know?" he questioned, the whole room far more tense than it had been all night. 

Reed had the funniest feeling. He didn't like how aggressive his Dad was acting and fuck, he really hated how he kept glaring at Eli. His heart was beating a little faster and his arm tightened around Elijah. He didn't know what his boyfriend meant about secrets and he didn't care. His temper was starting to wake up, something that _never_ happened with either of his parents. But the way Jim was pushing at Eli, it came out of nowhere. 

Reed's eyes narrowed, his face flushed. He took a step forward towards Jim, putting himself in front of Elijah. He couldn't stop himself, snapping, "What? You think he'd just make something up? What are you so afraid of that he knows? Like when he told me the truth about Blackgate?" 

Elijah was admittedly surprised when Reed got between him and Jim. All it took was one look at his face and he knew that temper of his was flaring up. His jaw went a bit slack when Reed actually challenged Jim, immediately feeling bad for starting all of this. True, he didn't like the way his dad was being spoken about, but he didn't want to cause any problems for Reed. He put his hand on the small of his boyfriend's back, gripping at his shirt gently in an attempt to calm him down. 

"Okie dokie, then!" Harvey quickly interrupted, not about to watch this train wreck do any further damage. He snatched two beers from the fridge, shoved them into Reed's hands as he said, "Hey, look! Beer! How about you two go somewhere else right now?" He grabbed both boys by their shoulders, pushing them out of the kitchen. "Go set the table, turn on the tv, go make out. Whatever. Out, out." 

Jim didn't even have a chance to respond, Harvey had quickly stepped in and thankfully diffused the situation. Jim had a sour look on his face, in total disbelief that Reed had tried to get all big and tough with him. He backed down, turning and taking a few steps away, trying his best to calm down while Harvey got the boys of the kitchen. 

"Come on," Reed snorted, trying to control all the blood rushing to his face. He kept Elijah close, going straight to his room. He needed to try and get his head right, calm down. He couldn't believe how angry he'd gotten. He hadn't ever stepped up to Jim like that before, completely shocked. It had to be because of how much he loved Eli, he had just gotten so pissed. He shut the door behind them, locking it, staring dumbly at his hands as he realized they were shaking. 

Elijah gave an apologetic look to Harvey before following Reed into his bedroom, letting out a little sigh once the door shut. He turned around and grabbed the beer bottles from his boyfriend, setting them down and the bed before taking his trembling hands in his own. He looked up at him, biting his lip gently. "I'm sorry. I should have just kept my mouth shut," he apologized, genuinely feeling bad. 

"Don't," Reed said, squeezing Elijah's hands, hoping his would stop shaking soon. He pressed his forehead against Eli's cheek, letting his eyes close as he took a deep breath. "My Dad was being an asshole! I'm sorry. I really thought this was gonna be so good and he's being a fucking douche. I know they have all this crazy beef with your parents; well, I don't know, not really." He gave his head a shake, snapping, "But it shouldn't matter! It was like a million years ago! I just don't fucking get it." 

Elijah had a much better understanding of why their parents didn't get along. There were some details he probably didn't know, but overall he understood why pretty well. He felt more than a little more bad for losing his cool than he was willing to admit. He knew what his parents were, what they did, but damn it, they had been good to him. They were his family. "It's okay. Really. I've known they don't really like my parents and I shouldn't have let it get to me," he insisted, nuzzling his nose against Reed's hair before he pulled away. 

Reed went to sit on his weight bench, unscrewing one end of the bar holding the weights. He pulled out a small joint, crawling over to his bed and cracking the window open. He didn't care that his parents were home; he could just blame the smell on a neighbor if they asked. He lit it up, hitting it so hard he practically burned right through it before thinking to ask, "Shit! Sorry, do you want some? 

Elijah made his way over to the other side of the bed, watching as Reed damn near smoked the entire joint in one hit. He couldn't help but frown just a bit, knowing his sweet little Reed was still pretty upset. Smoking in the house while his parents were home, but also smoking almost all of it in one shot? Definitely extra upset. It was very rare to not see Reed bounce right back from being upset and Elijah hated seeing him that way. He took the last of the joint as it was offered to him, figuring one little hit wouldn't leave him too stoned to function. 

Reed sat up, managing a sheepish smile. "I didn't think to ask, I'm a dick. I'm just, ulgh, pissed. At least Pops gave us some beer. He's pretty cool, you know." He grabbed one of those beers, popping it open and chugging it halfway down. He flopped back on the bed, trying to enjoy the ever fleeting buzz. He patted the spot beside him, asking sweetly, "Come here and lay with me?" 

Elijah waved a hand dismissively, offering a smile as he exhaled and tossed the last remaining bit of the joint out the window. "You're not a dick, you didn't have to save me any at all." He nodded, crawling into bed beside Reed, happily curling up to his side as he wrapped an arm around his waist, pressing a few lazy kisses to his neck. "I love you, just in case you were wonderin'." 

"I love you, too," Reed sighed, trying to put on a smile. Having Elijah here beside him, those soft kisses against his skin; he was starting to feel better. Maybe a little too good. He blushed, having to reach down and readjust himself in his pants, ignoring a growing erection. He pulled an arm around Eli's shoulders, kissing his forehead as he noted, "That's why I have to save you, you know. Because I love you and you're like, fucking everything to me." Whether it was those fuck head bullies at school or even his own father, Reed knew he would always defend Elijah, always protect him. 

Elijah couldn't help but blush, still not entirely sure how someone as sweet as Reed saw much of anything in him. He certainly didn't need protecting; most of the time, anyway. It was so damn sweet that Reed felt the need to keep him safe. "I _can_ defend myself, ya know. But it's super sweet and ridiculously sexy when you step in and go all beast mode to keep me safe," he admitted with a shy little grin. 

Reed trailed his kisses down Eli's cheek, his ear, nibbling playfully at his neck. He was definitely feeling better, hooking a leg around Eli's and pulling his body closer to his. He knew they probably didn't have enough time to mess around, dinner would be ready soon; but damn it, was it impossible to not want to touch and kiss all over his beautiful boyfriend. "It actually did feel really good to stand up to my Dad. I've never fucking done that before." He grinned shyly. "Felt kind of badass." 

Elijah didn't hesitate to curl up closer, biting his lip to hold back a hushed little groan as he felt Reed's lips and hands began to roam. He knew this was the absolutely worst time to start screwing around, but fuck if that could stop him from getting caught up in his boyfriend. God, he was so perfect. He trailed kisses along Reed's shoulder, nipping playful as he smirked, fingers trailing over the curves of his abs just beneath his shirt. "It was ridiculously hot seeing you get all tough with your dad. Like, _really_ hot," he murmured against his shoulder. 

"Yeah?" Reed grinned, letting out a little sigh as Elijah petted his stomach. He could hear his parents' voices, trying to stay hushed, bickering with each other through the door. This usually went one of two ways. It would either end in a screaming match that would last until the sun came up; or another series of noises that would not stop until the sun came up. He buried his face into Elijah's neck, hoping it was the latter. At least then, they'd both be in good moods. He held Eli close, praying that regardless of the outcome it would be over soon. 

Harvey let out a deep sigh, having heard the lock of Reed's door click into place, huffing over at Jim. He jabbed him in the side, snarling, "The fuck was that about! What were you trying to prove, Jimmy?" 

Jim was furious. He swatted at Harvey's arm when he jabbed at his side, rolling his eyes. "Don't get pissed at me like I started it. I was being perfectly civil until he started talking about knowing God damn secrets," he quietly snapped right back, trying to keep voice down, a miserable little scowl on his face. 

Harvey snorted, throwing ketchup and tomato paste in another pot, slowly adding the cooked veggies and meat to make the sauce. They had finished the wine, so he went for more whiskey. "Yeah? Please don't act like you were being mister fucking perfect, okay?" Harvey growled, finally realizing how loud he was being. He got quiet, calmly adding, "I know you. You fucking set him up, to take a poke at him." He sighed, stirring at the sauce for a moment before grabbing at his drink. 

Jim was still mad, but damn it if he didn't begin to cave under that scowl from Harvey. Maybe, just maybe, he had baited Elijah and maybe he was being a jerk. He sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair before rubbing at the back of his neck, glancing up at Harvey. "You're right. I may be being an asshole," he admitted begrudgingly, "And maybe they are kinda cute together. Reed also might look really happy. It's just gonna take some adjusting, Reed has always been the damn easy kid." 

"You are definitely an asshole," Harvey assured him. "But it's like I always tell you, you're _my_ asshole." Harvey took a big gulp, scowling. "This isn't gonna be easy at all, I get you don't like the Cobblepot kid. He has probably the most fucked up possible parents in the universe. Ed is especially one crazy fuck head, no argument there, but you know... The way they were together, c'mon. Definitely not my dream come true, but. Did you see how happy Reed was?" 

"I did," Jim sighed. "At least, the happy before the rage thing. What was that shit with Reed? He's certainly never tried to get all tough with me before." 

Harvey pulled his grumpy partner over, never liking to see him upset. He kissed his neck, agreeing, "The fuck, right? He was probably just trying to look all tough in front of his boyfriend." Harvey grinned, teasing as he tried to cheer Jim up, "If you were my dad and talking smack to my boyfriend, I'd get all big and tough, too." He gave his partner's butt a squeeze, still pretty buzzed and determined to stay in a playful and happy mood. "As long as he doesn't figure out he's bigger than you, probably be all right!" 

Jim couldn't help but snort, rolling his eyes and chuckling at the little squeeze. Leave it to Harvey to never let him stay in too bad of a mood for very long. "He's definitely gonna figure out he's bigger some day. Hopefully he just never figures out he can most likely kick my ass." He laughed, looking up at his partner and pressing a kiss to his lips. 

Harvey kissed his partner tenderly, trying not to let himself get too carried away as his hands ran over the sides of his face. Fuck, he loved this fucking man, grump and all. 

Jim let himself get caught up in the kiss for a moment, smiling softly against Harvey's lips. He never failed to cheer him up, even after all this time. He easily could have just stayed there like that with his partner the rest of the night, but sadly, there were kids home. He mumbled, pulling away so Harvey could finish with dinner. 

Harvey gave Jim's butt one more playful smack before heading back to the stove. "And trust me, I know. It's all kinds of fucked up and weird, but if Reed starts going back to practice and fixes his fucking grades since we're letting him date Eli? It'll be worth the fucking headache. And hey! Don't you worry." Harvey puffed up his chest, nodding enthusiastically. "I'm pretty sure I can still take him. Maybe." 

Jim grinned softly at the smack, only growing wider as Harvey postured. "How about we just try not to find out if either of us can." 

Sauce was good, pasta was done, and Harvey started taking everything out to the table. He noticed that the kids had definitely not set it. He rolled his eyes, big surprise there. He hollered out across the apartment, "Hey! Reed! Eli! Quit sucking face and get your asses out here! I wasn't kidding about setting the fucking table! Food!" 

"Shit!" Reed mumbled, disentangling himself from Elijah and pouting. He gave his boyfriend one more quick kiss, super passionate and full of tongue and lip, sighing as he unlocked his door to head back out. He made sure to bring his beer with him, taking Eli's hand in his and leading him into the kitchen. He grabbed plates and silverware, quickly heading to the table. 

Elijah followed Reed closely, all smiles from that last passionate kiss. He helped him bring everything to the table, having to watch for a moment before he helped set it. He had never once had to set a table, servants and all that. Once everything was done, he sat down at the table beside Reed, glancing over at Jim and Harvey for a moment, deciding to bite the bullet. "I'm sorry for getting so upset," he nodded, leaving it at that. Apologies weren't his greatest skill. 

Harvey exchanged a glance with Jim, as if to say, 'See! Not completely horrible.' He smiled warmly at Elijah, replying, "Hey, don't worry about it. We're sorry, too. A lot of bad shit in the past; and that's where it should stay. Thank you, Eli." Harvey began to pass around the noodles, but not before he spooned a giant portion for himself. Had to keep up that svelte figure, you know. 

Reed smiled happily, so proud that Eli had apologized and was trying to make things better. He looked expectantly at his Dad, hoping he would join Harvey and also offer his apologies. He took the bowl of pasta from Harv, spooning some out for himself; a portion nearly as big as his. He served Elijah, smiling eagerly, giving him an equally overfilled plate before passing it over to Jim. 

That expectant look was enough for Jim to accept the apology, doing his best to play nice the rest of dinner. He forced a smile, selling it the best he could. "Yeah, I'm sorry about all that," he added, figuring that was enough. He wasn't very good at apologies himself. He took the pasta when it was passed his way, serving a much smaller portion than the rest of his family before setting it back in the center of the table, smiling over at his partner when he felt Harvey's hand on his leg. 

Harvey poured out some sauce and sent it on its way around the table. He gave Jim's thigh a gentle squeeze, munching away contently. This was already feeling better. 

Harvey was proud of Jim for apologizing. He knew it was hard, trying to be so nice, rewarding him with a rough grope between his legs. He was plenty buzzed and besides, the kids couldn't see what he was doing under the table. He smiled innocently at Jim, batting his eyes playfully. This had been a huge week for them. The promotion, trying to get everything going in the right direction at work, and now sitting and having dinner with their son's new boyfriend. Fuck yeah, parenting. 

Jim blushed hard when Harvey grabbed him under the table, glad the kids were far too caught up in each other to notice. When his gave him that innocent little look, he melted like always, giving a shy little smile and shaking his head. He reached over and gave Harvey's knee a squeeze. Fuck, he loved him so much. 

Harvey smiled at Jim and kept sipping his whiskey, moving to look across the table and eyeing Eli curiously. Maybe it would be better if he asked him some stuff; Jim wasn't that great at chit chat, especially with this kid. "So, Elijah. Any big plans for after graduation? Reed is applying to college over in Central City." 

Elijah was thankful he had smoked a little bit with Reed and was more than able to eat that giant portion his boyfriend had put on his plate. Man, it was good. He damn near choked on his food when Harvey brought up college; it was something he and Reed really hadn't talked much about. Central City? Fuck, that was so far. 

"Yeah, like I'll ever get in," Reed mumbled forlornly between bites of spaghetti. He finished off the beer, asking sweetly, "Can I have another one, Pops?" 

"With that shit attitude? Fuck no!" Harvey laughed. "You'll be fine. Just quit necking and get your ass back to football practice. Keep your grades up and I know you can do it." He smirked knowingly, confident in his son. He looked back to Elijah, asking again, "Any ideas what you'd go to school for? Reed is gonna go piss off his parents and become the one fucking thing we told him not to." 

Elijah hadn't really even thought about college, let alone leaving Gotham. He was grateful for Reed and Harvey talking for a moment, caught entirely off guard and a bit speechless, panicked at the thought of his boyfriend leaving. 

Elijah really didn't want to leave Gotham, everything he knew was here. He had mostly planned on following into the family business most of of his life, never really considering much of anything else. But if he had to choose between that sweet, kind and all around perfect ginger of his and staying in Gotham, he would choose Reed in a heartbeat. 

"O-Oh? You've never told me what you wanna go to school for, Reed," Elijah said, trying not to stutter. When Harvey turned his attention back over to him, Elijah shook off that shock, putting on a smile and shrugging his shoulders a bit. "Honestly, I haven't really put a whole lot of thought into it. I've got a 4.0 GPA so far, so as long as I don't screw up, I imagine I'll be okay to get in anywhere, really," he nodded, pausing a moment to think it over before deciding, "I guess if I went for anything, it would probably be forensics. I always found it really interesting." 

Jim grimaced slightly when Eli mentioned forensics; just like Ed. Yup. And they all knew how that turned out. 

"Dude!" Reed exclaimed through a mouthful of spaghetti. "You should totally come with me to Central City College! They have a wicked awesome science department, Ivy was looking into it! I'm sure they have some specialty forensics stuff, that place is huge!" Reed managed to swallow his food before speaking again, saying shyly, "Well, I'm getting my degree in criminal justice and then applying to the academy. The police academy. I'm gonna be a cop like Dad and Pops." 

"Dumbass," Harvey interjected affectionately. 

"I wanna be able to help people," Reed said with a little shrug. He knew he didn't have the brains like Ivy did to go off and find a cure for cancer or something, but he could do good in his own way. He gently nudged Elijah, smiling earnestly. They had been so caught in each other this past month, Reed hadn't thought much about what they would do after school. Now, Reed's mind was made up. He couldn't imagine a moment without Eli, saying eagerly, "Come with me! I could even help you with your application! With those grades, you could totally get in easy!" 

Great, he wanted to be a cop. Elijah was quiet while he thought it all over, picking at his food while he let Reed excitedly ramble like he always did. It was a pretty big decision after all, to leave his home behind, to leave the one bit of consistent stability he'd had over the years. But would it be worth staying behind without Reed? Could they make it work if he did stay? Certainly not if Reed was planning on becoming a damn cop and he was going to inherit his family's criminal empire. 

When Reed nudged at his side and flashed that sincere little smile, Elijah had made up his mind. He couldn't be without that sweet little ginger. He just couldn't. Eli smiled, nodding his head. "Applying couldn't hurt, right?" he agreed, glancing over at Reed. "And I can start helping you with your homework and studying to try and help get your grades up by the end of the year." 

"Oh! I know you would get in! You would totally get accepted!" Reed was thrilled, grabbing Elijah's hand, exclaiming, "You'd really do that? You'd leave Gotham and come to school with me when we graduate?" He laughed when Elijah mentioned studying, adding, " _And_ help me with homework? You realize I'm like a head injury away from being completely mentally irregular, right? That's, that's really awesome of you. You are so sweet!" He turned and beamed at his parents, hoping that they were finally seeing that Elijah was an incredible person. 

Okay, Harvey couldn't deny that it was very sweet of Elijah to offer to tutor Reed. He was also very surprised to hear that Elijah was willing to apply to the same school as him. Central City wasn't exactly right down the road. He looked sideways at Jim, knowing they were both thinking the same thing; if Elijah Cobblepot was going to leave and go off to college, wonder what his dear old dads would think of him abandoning the family business? Especially for _their_ son. 

Oswald may have been okay with the kids dating for now, but losing his son to go to school far off and away in a distant city? Probably not so much. 

"Mighty kind of you, Elijah," Harvey said, crudely nudging Jim under the table again as he nonchalantly finished off his food. Dinner was done and he was getting ready for dessert. He cleared his throat, saying with an exaggerated yawn, "Now, listen here. Pops and Dad have had a long fucking day and we're going to bed. Clean up the dishes and you guys can hang out until ten, or whenever the fuck Elijah has to get home. No more beer; I counted them, Reed, so, no sneaking!" 

Reed was absolutely exhilarated, already up on his feet and starting to clear the dishes. "Thanks, Pops!" He exchanged a playful smile with Elijah; he couldn't believe they had already come so far. From fighting to falling to love, now even talking about going off to college together; their relationship was blossoming. And now they could actually be open in front of Harvey and Jim, even Oswald. Only a little bit longer and they wouldn't be sneaking around at all. 

There was only person left to tell; granted, it was one of the fucking scariest people in the universe to Reed, but he tried to stay positive. They had made it this far and Reed was determined that together, he and Elijah could do anything.


	2. The Stars Are Out Tonight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After dinner, Elijah and Reed decide to have themselves some dessert.

Reed had the most peculiar look on his face; it was a mix of disgust and extreme embarrassment. The cause? The rather constant, excited noise from his parent's bedroom. The mattress had a very unique sound and hearing Pops' laughter and Dad's drunken giggles left very little to the imagination. It didn't matter how loud Reed turned up the television, it was impossible to escape. He sunk down into the couch, groaning. His parents had practically sprinted to their room after dinner, and Reed knew this would probably go on all night long. 

If there was one thing Elijah was incredibly grateful for about living in such a large house was that he very rarely ever heard his parents having sex. He had walked past their room to wander down to the kitchen in the middle of the night and gotten an earful once or twice, but never anything he couldn't very quickly rush away from. 

Reed snuggled against Elijah, sighing, "I'm so fucking sorry. They're super fucking gross." He held his boyfriend's hand, giving it a firm squeeze. He was still so grateful that dinner had gone well; it was so awesome being able to sit and hang out without worrying about being caught. Even with all the amorous groans and loud smacks coming from the other side of the apartment, it was nice. 

Elijah couldn't help but snort at the look on Reed's face, shaking his head and offering a little smile. "It's okay, not nearly as traumatizing for me as it is for you," he mused, giving Reed's hand a squeeze right back. 

Reed bumped his leg against Elijah's, asking with a bright smile, "Hey! You wanna go outside?" He smiled shyly, saying, "I could use a smoke, you know." 

Elijah gently bumped his long leg back against Reed's, nodding and smiling. "Sounds good to me," he agreed, standing up and offering out his hands to help tug his boyfriend to his feet, more than happily following him through his room and out through the window into the fire escape. Even if it wasn't nearly as awful for him as it was for Reed, it was still nice to get away from the sounds of his boyfriend's parents going at it. 

Once they were outside and the window was mostly closed behind them, Elijah sat down, his long legs stretching out and dangling through the rails. Reed had grabbed the blanket off his bed as he followed Elijah outside. He threw it over his shoulders, cuddling up behind him and wrapping it around tightly around them. He pressed close, his legs sticking out on either side of his boyfriend's, swinging his feet idly. 

Elijah leaned back against Reed, listening to the ever constant hustle and bustle of the city beneath them, letting out a happy little sigh. "This is really nice. Not having to sneak around and stuff," he commented. 

"Fuck yeah, it is," Reed agreed. "It's so fucking cool. It feels, like, normal. Pops is fucking awesome. I think he really likes you. I'm sorry again, about you know, my Dad being a prick." 

Elijah happily curled up against Reed under the blanket, laying his head back against his shoulder with a happy little sigh. The sneaking around had been fun, but this was so much better, being able to just curl up together and not have to worry about a damn thing. It was like a huge weight he hadn't realized had been weighing him down so much was suddenly lifted. "Stop apologizing, really, it's okay," he insisted. 

"I can't help it," Reed laughed. "Just pisses me off, you know?" He started patting his jeans, trying to find his smokes. Dammit, he had sworn he'd just had them.

Elijah lit up a cigarette after having snatched Reed's lighter from his pocket, unnoticed as always, holding it up for him with a smirk when he started searching. 

Reed laughed when he realized he'd been pick pocketed for the millionth time, taking the cigarette and inhaling deeply. He kissed Eli's neck, chuckling, "You damn thief." He tipped his head back, exhaling contently. 

Elijah flashed a cheeky little grin, his head tilting to the side as he let out a happy little hum. "Maybe someday you'll catch me," he mused, grabbing the cigarette back from Reed and taking a drag of his own before passing it back. 

"Yeah, right," Reed snorted. "Pops said I'm so slow I can't even catch a cold." Reed's eyes moved over the skyline of Gotham, asking softly, "You really meant it, about... Coming to school with me?" His arm curled around Elijah's waist, hugging him. "Because, I really, like really can't imagine being without you. I just... Fuck, I can't. You'd really leave the city for me?" 

Elijah smiled softly, his stomach doing little flips at the thought. "I wouldn't have said yes if I didn't mean it," he nodded, shifting so they could lay back, looking up at the sky above them. "I mean, I hadn't really considered going to school at all. But I can't..." He paused, the thought of being so far away from Reed physically making his chest hurt, shaking his head. "If you're going, I'm going." 

"Good," Reed said, sounding relieved, tucking an arm back behind his head as he stretched out. "Hey, you never know." He laughed, continuing, "I might not even get accepted. My grades suck balls. Then we don't have to worry about going anywhere." He sounded a little sad. Reed had always struggled with school, a C student for most of his life and fighting hard to even get that. Last year had been miserable academically and he was definitely worried about this one. He puffed at the cigarette, frowning. 

Elijah pouted a little bit, shaking his head as he rolled on his side, reaching up and grabbing Reed's cheeks between his thumb and forefinger, forcing his lips into a little pout as well as he stole a kiss. "Hush. You'll get in, that's what you have me for. I can think of a thing or two to help you study," he murmured against his lips with a little grin. Sure, Reed wasn't the smartest guy on the planet, but he had plenty of other strengths and he certainly wasn't as dumb as he thought he was. 

Reed made kissy noises when Elijah squeezed his cheeks, giggling into the kiss. His boyfriend's reassurance did make him feel better. If Elijah believed in him, fuck, anything was possible. "Oh, yeah? Some kind of uh, motivation? I could be down with that." He blew out little smoke rings, offering the cigarette back to Eli. His eyes wandered skyward, flickering around trying to find stars in the smoggy Gotham sky. He thought he saw one; nope, just a passing plane. He snorted, laughing, "You'd fucking think there aren't any stars here. Can't see shit up there." 

Elijah took the cigarette, taking the last drag from it before flicking the butt over the side of the rails, glancing up at the sky as he exhaled, laughing softly. "Yeah, right. Stars in Gotham?" he snorted, shaking his head. He couldn't help himself as a playful little grin spread across his lips, rolling himself on top of Reed to straddle his waist, leaning down and pressing a playful little kiss to his lips. "I know one way we could see some stars," he teased, nipping at his lower lip gently. 

Reed grinned up at Elijah, his hands squeezing his hips and lovingly returning the kiss. His eyes got wide with excitement, grinning from ear to ear. "Are you fucking serious? You have like a telescope or something? Fuck! I always wanted one when I was a kid. That would be so fucking badass! I've like, never seen stars except like in movies and shit. Oh! We could like go out into the county and look at the stars with your telescope out there! Dude!" 

Elijah sat back for a moment, looking down at Reed, a little dumbfounded look on his face. He blinked a few times, his pouty lips curled up into a hint of a smile as he shook his head. 

Reed frowned, tilting his head at Elijah. "Is it like a little telescope? 'Cause all you brought over was that nasty ass wine and there ain't shit in your pockets." 

"Thank God you're pretty," Elijah teased affectionately with a little laugh, leaning back in and cupping Reed's chin in his hand, pressing a sweet little kiss to his lips. "There's no telescope, babe. Sorry to disappoint. I meant figuratively, not actual stars." 

"Huh?" Reed was immediately confused. 

While the wheels started turning in Reed's head, Elijah gave his hips a playful little roll, grinning and raising an eyebrow when he knew he that sweet little puppy of a boyfriend of his finally understood. Fuck, he was adorable. And maybe he could definitely use that tutoring. That was an issue for another time. Right then, Elijah knew exactly how he wanted to spend the rest of their night together right there in the fire escape. 

Reed was blushing profusely as realization came tumbling over him, laughing, "Oh! Right. Totally knew that. I mean, who the fuck carries a telescope around. Yeah." He couldn't hide his disappointment, but was quickly distracted by the anticipation of screwing around. He smiled shyly, pulling the blanket from around his shoulders and wrapping it up around Elijah. His pale cheeks were bright red, bumping his hips up playfully, saying, "We haven't done it like this before." 

Elijah grinned softly as Reed shifted the blanket up over his shoulders. That disappointed little look on his face was absolutely darling and he made a mental note to buy Reed a telescope the first chance he had. But he was just as easily distracted as Reed's hips bumped up against his own, shaking his head and grinning playfully. "No, we haven't," he agreed, his fingers sliding up under his boyfriend's shirt. 

The very thought of sex got Reed going; Elijah on top of him and the soft glimmer of the city lights on his face made Reed harder than that time he tried to figure out the chicken before the egg mystery. He dug his fingers into Elijah's hips, sighing and biting at his lip, "Fuck, baby. You look so pretty." 

Elijah couldn't hide the way his cheeks flushed at the sweet little compliment, letting out a soft little moan as he felt his fingers grabbing his hips, loving the sight of Reed biting his pouty little lip like that. "You are fucking gorgeous," he murmured, his tongue running over his lower lip. 

Reed scooted back so his feet weren't hanging off the edge any more, pulling Eli along. He reached down, eagerly unbuttoning his boyfriend's pants. Every time was just as exciting as the first, not able to hide his smile. Reed pushed his hips up again so Elijah could feel his erection, whining softly, "Damn it, I love you."

Elijah giggled a bit as Reed slid them back so easily, his fingers slipping down to unbutton Reed's jeans, groaning when he felt how hard he already was. "I love you too, so much," he replied, voice a little breathless as he bent at the waist, crashing their lips together in a hungry little kiss, his tongue searching out Reed's eagerly, fingers fumbling to get his jeans out of the way, neither of them able to stop grinding their hips together. 

Reed nearly tipped Elijah off of him trying to get his pants off. He laughed into their kiss, "Fuck your damn tight ass jeans!" 

Elijah gripped at Reed's shirt tightly when he almost toppled over, only having a mini heart attack, a little more afraid of heights than he was willing to admit and it wasn't lost on him exactly how high up they were. He managed to wiggle his pants down, with Reed's assistance, helping his boyfriend slide his own pants and under down around his thighs. He couldn't help but laugh, shaking his head and grinning. "You love my tight ass jeans," he mused. 

"You goddamn right I do! Right up until I'm trying to take them off!" Reed laughed. He made sure to keep the blanket tucked around his boyfriend's hips, not wanting him to get chilled by the crisp night air. He reached up, gently tugging him down to meet his lips. He kissed him passionately, his tongue tenderly sliding back against his. Fuck, this boy was his entire world. He reached down, lewdly rubbing his cock against Eli's, his chest already flexing hard from trying to catch his breath. 

Elijah gasped softly into their kiss as Reed began to rub their cocks together, his hips rolling forward into his touch. Fuck, he could never, ever imagine being able to get enough of Reed, in any sense. It was why he knew he would follow him to Central City, to anywhere; as long as it meant staying together. 

Reed tilted his head away, smirking as he spat into his hand, trying to ensure his dick was plenty slick, stroking himself against Elijah's. He broke their lips apart, concern ever a factor, asking hesitantly, "I won't hurt you like this, right? I mean, we've just done that like one position; and it's a totally good one, I like it a lot! I don't want to like, you know, hurt you. I know sometimes I'm not wet enough or something. Plus, you're like super tight..." Reed was doomed to keep babbling forever, his worry never ceasing. 

Elijah couldn't stop himself from smiling softly at his boyfriend's worry, resting his forehead against the other's as he shook his head gently. "Reed. I'll be fine," he assured him, one hand finding his boyfriend's and lacing their fingers together, the other reaching back to guide his cock. 

"Okay, baby," Reed sighed, giving Eli's hand a soft squeeze. He took a deep breath, his body aching with anticipation. 

Elijah lifted his hips just enough to line himself up with Reed's cock, slowly sinking down onto him with a shaky little groan. God damn, this new angle felt amazing already and gave him far more control than he was used to. He didn't stop until his cock had sunk all the way in. 

"Oh, God, Eli. Fuck, fuck, fuck, _fuck_!" Reed whimpered as his cock slowly slipped inside him. His head crashed back into the grating beneath them, ow, already panting. Elijah having this control was so fucking hot, gazing up at him in awe. 

Eli took a deep breath, starting a slow, tantalizing rhythm as his hips began to rock, gripping at Reed's hand a little tighter as he moaned. 

Reed pushed his boyfriend's shirt up, wanting to watch how his stomach move as he slowly grinded against him. Reed was biting his lip so hard he feared it may bleed, Eli looked so sexy. He gave his boyfriend's hand another tight squeeze in return, his other hand latching onto his hip. "Baby, that, that feels so fucking good! Fuck!" 

Elijah had always been more than happy to let Reed get on top and take charge, but fuck, was this nice, being able to control the pace and watch Reed writhe beneath him. The sight of his beautiful boyfriend biting his lip like that, the raw passion and pleasure written all over his face mixed with the sounds of his moans, was driving him crazy. 

Reed laid there for now, overcome with pleasure, mewling helplessly. He was gasping, crying out, "Fuck, you are so fucking hot." He tried to keep his hips down, but he found them instinctively arching up as Elijah rode him. He tried to hold off. There was something so enticing about Elijah being on top, letting him do what he wanted, and working his cock over like this. He had to take back his hands, fingers running over his face as his back arched forward, groaning low. "Holy shit, yes." 

Fuck, Elijah's blood was pumping hard, hips starting to grind down a bit faster, pulling almost all the way off of his cock before sinking back down. "Shit... Reed, you feel so fucking good like this," he moaned. 

As Elijah picked up the pace, Reed moaned softly, panting loudly. God, that felt amazing. He didn't think his cock could feel this deep inside of him, all that pressure from the weight of Eli's body on top of him was fantastic. When Eli lifted up only to come crashing back down, Reed shouted, "Oh, my God!", his head smacking back into the grating hard. He really was seeing stars now. 

Elijah pushed Reed's shirt up, his hands roaming up his stomach and settling against his chest, his nails digging into his shoulders as he began to ride him faster, the grates beneath them digging into his knees as he did. Elijah moaned shamelessly as he watched Reed's fingers running over his beautiful flushed face, reaching a hand up and running his thumb over his lower lip. "Fuck, yes, you are so fucking gorgeous like this," he groaned, panting softly. 

Elijah suddenly found the biggest advantage to this angle when Reed's cock hit that sweet spot inside of him, his head tipping back as he let out a loud, breathless moan. "Holy fuck." He kept his hips at that same angle, growing more and more desperate as he began to thrust his hips down harder and faster, body going tighter around his boyfriend's cock. "Feels so good babe. Can't fucking get enough," he panted out, his voice a little whimper. 

"Fuck!" Reed cried when Elijah began to ride him like that. Feeling him tighten up was getting him so damn close. His mouth hung open, barely able to hang on to reality with how amazing this was. He felt Elijah's finger at his mouth and kissed at it, gasping. His hands clasped on top of Eli's at his chest, whining desperately. "Fuck, baby. You, too. You are so fucking beautiful." His hands slid over Elijah's arms, reaching for his shirt and sliding underneath it. His fingers ran all over, wanting to touch every fucking inch of him. 

Elijah couldn't tear his eyes away from Reed, the sight of him with his jaw slack, the way his nose scrunched as he was caught up in the raw passion and pleasure of it all, it was so sexy. He was completely in awe of the beautiful boy beneath him, still barely able to wrap his head around the fact that Reed Gordon was all his. The way his boyfriend was looking at him, his hands roaming all over his body, fuck, it made Elijah feel so confident and genuinely beautiful. It was a rare thing for him to feel that way and fuck, did it just make everything feel a thousand times more intense. 

Reed couldn't stop himself, it was so fucking good and he wanted more. He arched his back, sitting about halfway up so he could lean back on his hands. He began to pump his hips upwards to meet Elijah's that desperate, insatiable rhythm. "God! Damn!" he marveled, his head falling back and moaning with every thrust. He shifted his weight so he was balanced back on one arm, grabbing for Elijah's cock. He jerked him roughly, sighing between his moans of passion, "Fuck, I wish we could fuck like this forever." 

As Reed shifted positions, Elijah couldn't hold back the little shout that escaped him when his hips began powerfully pull into him. "Fuck, fuck, _fuuuck_! Don't stop!" he begged, his hands bracing against his broad shoulders as their bodies began rocking together as one. Elijah's face flushed as Reed's fingers wrapped around his cock, mewling as he buried his face against his neck. "God, I never wanna stop," he whimpered against his neck, kissing and biting desperately. 

Reed tipped his head forward, eyes locked on Elijah's ass riding his cock. "I love you," he whimpered. "So fucking, fucking much." 

"Fuck, I love you, too, Reed." Elijah started to ride Reed's cock faster, feeling that simmering heat building in his loins threatening to burst, an utter mess of gasps and moans. "So close. _Fuuuck_ , I don't want this end," he whined, arms hooking up under Reed's shoulders, his nails digging in harshly, hips rutting down insatiably. 

"Me, too, _shit_ ," Reed gasped, keeping his hips bucking up as hard as he could. His skin burned where Eli dug in, every little nip and kiss at his throat made him groan even louder. He was sure the whole neighborhood could probably hear them and he was too caught up in Elijah to even care. He tried nuzzling against Elijah's hair, kissing at his ear. He squeezed Elijah's cock, rolling his thumb over his head and back down again with every stroke. He couldn't keep going, he knew he couldn't last. 

"Mmm, baby," Reed cried softly, "I'm gonna fuckin' come." The words had barely left his lips before his body started shaking, having to crash down onto his elbow. His threw his head back, his hips thrusting up wildly, screaming out Elijah's name as he pumped into him. 

When Reed went tumbling back, Eli fell forward with him, his ass slamming down to meet the wild bucking of his hips As badly as Elijah didn't want it all to end, there was just no way he could hold on much longer with the way Reed's cock was still slamming into him. He was panting hard against his neck, his cock dripping as his boyfriend's thumb worked over the head as he felt his boyfriend's come filling him right up. 

Fuck! Reed's vision was fuzzy for a few moments. There were those damn stars his sweet boyfriend had promised him. He nearly collapsed flat on his back, his body aching and burning from the intensity; but he never stopped jerking off Elijah, keeping his hips moving as long as he could. Reed gasped for breath, encouraging him, "Come on, baby. Come for me." 

Elijah was only moments behind, his body going tight around his lover's cock as his orgasm finally hit him, crying out Reed's name as he desperately slammed his hips down, riding out every last overwhelmingly pleasure filled second. His hot come splashed all over Reed's hand and stomach, his whole body trembling as he finally reached the end of his climax. 

Reed could never get over the sight of Elijah coming; it was the sexiest fucking thing in the world to him and it was all his. He watched his boyfriend's come shooting all over his stomach, whining at the sight. He stroked him through every last shiver, watching him intently. Fuck, that was so hot. There was no doubt in his mind that Elijah was the most perfect creature on the damn planet. 

"Fuck, that was amazing. _You_ are amazing." Elijah collapsed on top of his sweet boyfriend, panting hard as he pressed a few lazy kisses along his jaw. His whole body was still buzzing with that warm, consuming afterglow, not pulling away just yet. He wanted to savor the feeling of Reed's cock inside of him just a little bit longer. "I love you. So fucking much," he murmured as he nuzzled against his lover's jaw, as happy as could be. 

"I love you, too," Reed sighed, still trying to catch his breath. He pulled the blanket tightly around his boyfriend, wrapping his arms around his waist over top of it and holding him close. He kissed the top of Elijah's hair, laughing, "Shit, you're the amazing one. You did like all the work. That was, wow... It was fucking awesome." He didn't want to move. He wanted to stay like this, staring up at the smoggy sky, still holding Elijah in the most intimate way possible. Even as his erection started to wilt, he didn't want to get up yet, happy to cuddle him. 

Elijah happily curled up against Reed's chest, a small blush on his cheeks as he buried his face against his neck. "I didn't do all the work. That thing you did at the end there... holy shit. That was god damn amazing," he mused, laughing softly. He was as content as could possibly be, more than happy to spend the rest of the evening curled up under that blanket just the way they were. 

" _God damn_ amazing, huh? I'll have to do it again sometime," Reed purred, grinning slyly. "That was really, really nice with you on top like that." He chuckled, rubbing Elijah's back slowly. He kissed at his forehead, smiling brightly. "Hey, guess what," he whispered. "I saw fucking stars."

Elijah smiled softly, his cheeks going red again as he tilted his head up, resting his chin against his boyfriend's collarbone. "That might have been the concussion from nailing your head against the grates over and over," he teased affectionately, flashing a toothy little grin as he felt that sweet little kiss pressed against his forehead.

"It wasn't a concussion," Reed said a little defensively. "Dude, I've totally had those. Like, two. I think." He looked thoughtful, frowning. "Fuck, I don't know. I think concussions might affect your memory." His eyes went wide with his excitement as he said, "Hey, it can't be that bad because I just remembered something! Don't we have art class tomorrow? Or like the day after. I don't know; but it's gonna be like a free day, we can do whatever we want or something. I think. We can finally have sexy gay pottery like in the movie!" 

Reed giggled, kissing Eli's brow again, teasing, "I can sit right behind you, with my arms around you, our hands all squished together in clay..." He felt his cock stir slightly, the very thought of messing around at school was getting his attention. 

Elijah couldn't help but snort when his sweet, darling little boyfriend got super excited about art class, shaking his head. "You are _so_ excited about sexy gay pottery," he mused, smirking as he felt Reed's cock starting to stir again inside of him, quirking an eyebrow with a little laugh. "I mean, if sexy, super gay pottery is what does it for you, I'm all on board." 

"Hey, anything with you? I'm totally fucking on board." Reed grinned, sliding his hands over Elijah's hips and playfully rocking them against his.

Elijah was more than ready to get round two going, starting to kiss at Reed's neck when he heard a laugh coming from beneath them. He peeked down through the grates to see Reed's downstairs neighbor standing there, smoking a joint. He recognized him immediately, having watched Reed sneak down this very fire escape to make deals with him. 

Elijah thought he had smelled weed, but he figured it was just Reed; his darling boyfriend always smelled like a nice little mix of his cologne and pot. His cheeks flushed immediately, hiding his face in Reed's chest. "How long have you been standing there, Mike?" he called out from where his face was buried. 

Reed groaned loudly, realized they'd had an audience. He smiled softly when Eli hid his face, running his fingers through his boyfriend's hair. "Hi, Mike." 

Mike glanced up at them, getting a full view of Reed's ass through the grates and letting out a very stoned little laugh. "'Sup, Reed and Reed's boyfriend!" he called up to them, taking another hit from his joint. "Eh, like, ten, fifteen minutes. You seemed like you were having a good time, didn't wanna interrupt!" 

"Very considerate of you!" Reed groaned loudly. He grumbled, shifting his hips up and having to move Elijah off so he could pull his pants and underwear back on. He pouted, hating how cold his dick felt suddenly not being inside him. He reached for Eli's clothes, helping him slide those long legs back in his pants. 

Elijah couldn't help but whine a bit as they both tugged their clothes back on, pouting at Reed. He totally could have gone for round two right out there on the fire escape. There was something so nice about being out there, having felt like they were the only two people in the city until Mike had come out. 

"Hope your head's okay, Reed!" Mike said, sounding genuinely concerned, "Sounded like you hit it kind of hard." 

"I'm fine!" Reed replied, gritting his teeth. He helped Eli wiggle his pants back over his hips, quickly calling down, "Yeah, so, thanks, Mike! We're, uh, we're gonna go now! Good night!"

"Yeah, good night, Mike!" Elijah hollered out, still pouting.

Reed quickly opened the window back up slipped back inside. He helped Elijah through and tumbled with him back into bed. He slammed the window shut, his face as red as his hair. Fuck, he couldn't believe that damn stoner had been watching and listening and ulgh. He grinned dopily, shrugging as he said, "Well. That was kinda weird... But. You know, I'm still up for seeing some more stars."

Reed leaned down, kissing Elijah sweetly. He knew it was late and if his parents found Elijah still here, they'd be super pissed. But he didn't want him to leave yet. Maybe just a little bit longer. 

Elijah grinned softly as they cuddled up together, laughing softly as he happily returned that sweet little kiss. He gently cupped his boyfriend's blushing cheeks as he pulled back, nuzzling their noses together affectionately. "I'm always down to see more stars with you, babe," he whispered, pouting a little as he pointed to the clock. "But we kinda lost track of time out there. It's past midnight. I don't wanna, but I should probably head home since I'm like, two hours late." 

"Okay," Reed said, pouting. He held Elijah tight, never wanting to let go. He sighed, saying, "Just wait until we're at college, huh? We won't ever have to do this stupid shit. We can always be together." He smiled at the thought, finally getting up and offering his hands out to Eli. 

"Always," Elijah agreed, his heart fluttering softly. He took Reed's hands, letting himself get pulled up to his feet. He couldn't wait until after graduation so they could start their lives together. He still had the somewhat daunting task of telling his parents his new future plans, but he would not let either one of them sway him. His mind was made up. 

"You getting a car to come by or taking a taxi?" Reed asked, leading Elijah out to the door. 

"I'll just catch a cab," Elijah nodded, hesitating to open the door. It was always so damn hard to leave that big, pretty ginger. Being away at college sounded better and better by the minute. 

Reed embraced him, hands sliding over his little waist, kissing him passionately. His tongue eagerly slipped into their kiss, groaning softly in frustration. He knew Eli had to go, but he couldn't help himself. 

Elijah loved how easy it was to get caught up in the other, his arms draping around his shoulders and holding him close. He kissed him back just as eagerly, trying not to get carried away with how good Reed's body felt pressing against his. He pulled away, giving him one last sweet kiss and sighing softly.

Reed really hated this has to end, but he was happy tonight had gone so well. "Thank you; for coming over for dinner," he said, kissing Elijah's cheek gently. "And being amazing and sweet and just, you know, being you. I love you. And I'm sure, with some time, Pops and Dad will, too." 

"I love you, too," Elijah replied, blushing at all the compliments. "Hey, we have all the time in the world, remember? Like, the rest of our lives. I'm not worried." 

"Good. Then I won't worry, either." Reed opened the door, stealing another kiss. "Good night, baby. Text me as soon as you get home." 

"I will," Elijah promised him, having to force himself to walk out. "Good night, babe." 

Reed watched Eli leave, tilting his head so he could watch his butt as he walked away, grinning. He shut the door, leaning back against it with a love sick sigh. Fuck, it really sucked getting busted; but this night had turned out to be absolutely amazing. 


End file.
